April’s Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled for today at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET / 10:00 PM BST. The show will cover pre-E3 announcements, as well as news for Game Pass and several upcoming Xbox One games. You’ll be able to watch the stream on Twitch, YouTube, and here on GameSpot, where we’ll also be delivering all the latest news as it’s announced.

The April Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled to be an hour long, and “will explore some exciting Xbox Game Pass news,” Xbox Wire editor-in-chief Will Tuttle wrote in a blog post. The show will also provide further details for the upcoming anniversary update for Sea of Thieves and footage of the beta for Warhammer: Chaosbane. An exclusive look at Rage 2 will also occur during the live stream, followed by “several surprises” for other games.

Rage 2 seems to be the focus of the live stream, as watching the show on Mixer while logged into your Microsoft account will unlock a Rage 2-themed avatar item. So far, most of the gameplay trailer for Rage 2 have focused on the game’s fast-paced combat–which incorporates destructive powers to make you feel like an unstoppable superhero. However, there haven’t been too many examples of the game’s driving components–which is surprising given developer Avalanche Studios’ work on Mad Max.

April 2019 sees another six titles join Xbox Game Pass, following three that were added earlier in the month. If you’re paying the $10 USD a month subscription fee to be a part of Game Pass, this month you gain access to Prey, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil 5, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2, and The Golf Club 2. We’ve given several of those games fairly high review scores, and listed Monster Hunter World as one of our game of the year finalists for 2018.

Prey and The Golf Club 2 arrive on Game Pass on April 11, Monster Hunter World and The Walking Dead: A New Frontier on April 18, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2 on April 24, and Resident Evil 5 on April 25. Earlier this month, Michonne, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and Minecraft joined Xbox Game Pass.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-inside-xbox-here-today-xbox-one-rage-2-news-/1100-6466165/

Death Stranding could be making the jump to PlayStation 5, according to a new report. Wired state that PS5 (and PS4) lead system architect Mark Cerny implied the upcoming PlayStation 4 game might instead release on both that console and the next-generation PlayStation.

While talking about PS5’s backwards compatibility, Cerny says the transition from PS4 to next-gen will be “gentle,” with many games launching on both platforms. When Wired asked how Death Stranding fits in to all this, Cerny reportedly smiled and didn’t reply, before a spokesperson merely repeated the game would come to PS4. GameSpot has contacted Sony for more information on whether Death Stranding will come to PS4, PS5, or both.

The much-anticipated game is the next project from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima. It’s an open-world action title that includes an optional online multiplayer component. Revealed at E3 2016, Death Stranding has become a game of much interest to fans of both PlayStation and Kojima himself, but we’re no closer to knowing even a vague release window.

The game sees you play as Sam Bridges, an employee for a mysterious organization who embarks on a journey to reunite a shattered world filled with dangerous invisible enemies of unknown origin. His profession seems to be that of a delivery man of sorts, but the nature of the parcels he delivers remains unexplained. For more, check out everything we know about Death Stranding.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/death-stranding-might-come-to-ps5-report/1100-6466284/

Judgment, the new game from Ryu ga Gotoku Studios (creators of the Yakuza franchise), recently went through a tumultuous time due to legal troubles of an actor who lent his likeness and voice to a major character. Pierre Taki, who played the high-ranking yakuza Kyohei Hamura, was arrested for suspicion of cocaine use in March 2019. The game was subsequently pulled off shelves and digital storefronts in Japan, and the state of the worldwide release was in limbo.

Soon after the controversy hit, it was confirmed that Judgment would be made available again in Japan in the future and still hit its intended Western launch date of June 25, 2019 with the necessary changes. And now, the new character model for Hamura has been revealed. Sega has confirmed that it’s using an original character model as opposed to another actor’s likeness–you can see a comparison between the two models in the image below.

The new, original character model for Hamura (left), Pierre Taki as Hamura (right)

In the video above, you can watch Hamura’s introductory cutscene in Judgment featuring the character’s new look; however, the clip has English voice acting which remains unchanged. Sega stated that it’s in the process of recording the new Japanese voice work and will be shown in the near future, but it’s not ready to say who the actor is yet. There is also currently no word on when the game will go back on sale in Japan. The worldwide release of Judgment will feature dual audio with English and Japanese voiceovers and EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) subtitles, which is a first for a game in the Yakuza universe.

As mentioned in previous stories, Japan has very strict drug laws with severe consequences, especially as it relates to one’s public image. Not only was Taki removed from Judgment by Sega, all screenshots, trailers, and social media via official channels were deleted. Sales of Disney’s Frozen were also halted since he plays the jolly snowman Olaf in the Japanese dub. Disney is looking for a replacement to voice Olaf in the Japanese release of Frozen 2 as well.

Earlier this year, I got hands-on with Judgment and came away impressed with its narrative-focused action-adventure crime drama, similar to that of the Yakuza games. While the game takes place in the same world as the Yakuza series (even using Kamurocho as the central location), Judgment flips the script by having you play as a private detective named Takayuki Yagami. You’ll investigate the on-going turf war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance and a deeper mystery about a series of murders that hit close to home.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/segas-judgment-now-has-a-new-character-model-to-re/1100-6466268/

Sony has revealed some information about its next-generation PlayStation. In an interview with Wired, Mark Cerny, who was lead system architect for the PlayStation 4 and is currently working on its successor, divulged details on the components that will power the next-gen system and teased some of the breakthroughs it is making.

In the interview, Cerny didn’t name the console, though conventional thinking states it will probably be PlayStation 5. The next-gen PlayStation is partially based on PS4 architecture, which means that it is backwards compatible. Cerny also revealed that it is not an all-digital device, and will accept physical discs. Wired’s article describes the transition from PS4 to PS5, as indicated by Cerny, as a “gentle one,” adding that numerous games will be released for both PS4 and the next-gen console.

Housed in the console will be an AMD chip that has a CPU based on the third-generation Ryzen. It’ll have eight cores of the seven-nanometer Zen 2 microchip. Although the console will support 8K, displaying at this resolution will be dependant on TVs catching up.

The graphics, meanwhile, will be driven by a custom version of Radeon’s Navi line. This graphics chip will support ray tracing, something which is starting to become popular in movies and video games. Although it is traditionally thought of as a lighting technique, Cerny says that there are implications beyond creating realistic environments.

“If you wanted to run tests to see if the player can hear certain audio sources or if the enemies can hear the players’ footsteps, ray tracing is useful for that,” he explained. “It’s all the same thing as taking a ray through the environment.”

One of the first big steps forward the next-gen PlayStation makes that Cerny is keen to talk about is audio. The AMD chip will enable 3D audio, and this, according to Cerny, is key to immersing players deeper. This naturally led to discussions of PlayStation VR, and while Cerny didn’t confirm whether a new version of Sony’s headset will be released, the existing one will be supported.

The other key leap the next PlayStation will make comes through it’s hard drive. According to Cerny, developers let Sony know that what they want an solid-state drives in the new hardware. These SSDs are relatively prevalent now in laptops, and what Sony is bringing to the next PlayStation is described as being specialized for the hardware.

Cerny demonstrated the change an SSD introduces to gaming by comparing a load sequence from Insomniac’s Spider-Man on a standard PS4 Pro and a dev kit of the next-gen PlayStation. On the former, it was around 15 seconds, while on the latter it was 0.8 seconds. This, Cerny added, has implications on how the world can be rendered too, which in turn impacts how quickly Spidey can move through the world. On the new hardware, the camera moves through the city much quicker, as the hardware is capable of keeping up with rendering requirements.

Discussing the SSD, Cerny said “the raw read speed is important, but so are the details of the I/O [input-output] mechanisms and the software stack that we put on top of them. I got a PlayStation 4 Pro and then I put in a SSD that cost as much as the PlayStation 4 Pro—it might be one-third faster.”

Developing…

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-first-details-specs-backwards-compatible-8k-ps/1100-6466281/

Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata left Square Enix last year and announced a new studio, JP Games, in December. Now he’s revealed the studio’s first project.

JP Games is starting in high-profile fashion. The studio is developing The Pegasus Dream Tour, which is the official video game for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. JP Games is developing the game with the International Paralympic Committee.

“I wish to thank everyone involved, who helped me up to this point and make this announcement today. You’ll be able to enjoy the game when the timing’s right in 2020. So stay tuned,” Tabata said in a post on Facebook.

The Pegasus Dream Tour is officially described as a “completely new sports role-playing game where players participate in a virtual Paralympic Games that takes place inside a fantasy metropolis known as Pegasus City.”

Players control characters who have special abilities known as “Xtra power.” The game is being made for “various platforms,” including smartphones.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said in a statement, “We are eager to explore innovative ways to engage with new and younger global audiences. We believe this game will help boost interest in the Paralympic Games and make it easier for people all over the world to enjoy and experience the heated atmosphere, passion, and excitement of the event.”

He added: “The sport at the Paralympics is outstanding and helps transform attitudes towards persons with disabilities like no other event. I am really excited to see and play this game and see how the outstanding abilities of Para athletes are represented.”

As for Tabata, he said, “This is not just an ordinary video game about sports. JP Games is going to represent fully the wonders that are unique to Paralympic sports in this brand-new role-playing game–a genre we excel in. With this video game, we want to contribute to the future growth of the Paralympic Games, not just as a sporting event, but as entertainment as well, with contents that we hope will have lasting value in the future.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-15-director-working-on-official-2020/1100-6466277/